MP Iain supports Project 110

Milton Keynes South MP, Iain Stewart, joined London Midland this week to officially celebrate the operator’s Project 110, w

A year in the making, the project opening was marked with the unveiling of a special-liveried train at the event held at Euston on Wednesday.

The innovation means that passengers travelling from Milton Keynes to London can now enjoy a faster non-stop hourly service to the capital taking just 35 minutes, thanks to an upgrade of the trains that enables them to run at 110mph.

This development has been delivered as part of London Midland’s ‘Project 110’, which enables more trains to run on the busy Euston line and will also see the introduction of ten brand new trains in 2014 to meet increasing demand. London Midland is already one of the fastest growing train operators in the UK.

Passengers on the faster services are also able to enjoy the comfort of London Midland’s Desiro Class 350/1 trains, which include a table for almost every seat.

London Midland’s Managing Director, Patrick Verwer said, “This is great news for passengers and shows just what can be achieved when the industry works together, with a focus on innovation, to bring improvements for our customers. Importantly, Project 110 isn’t solely about delivering in the here and now; this is a scheme that will bring further benefits in the future.

“We are already testing to run longer trains of eight and 12 carriage length and from later this year we hope to operate longer off-peak trains to meet rising demand. With the delivery of ten new Class 350/3 trains in 2014 we will soon be able to run a peak Project 110 timetable.”

Milton Keynes South MP, Iain Stewart, said “I very much welcome the upgrading of London Midland’s fleet which will create faster train journeys and extra capacity between London and Milton Keynes. It is a good investment which will be even more welcome when the new trains start running next year and providing added capacity.”

The project team included partners such as Siemens, Angel Trains, Network Rail, DfT, as well as London Midland.

More on the benefits of Project 110 can be found at http://www.londonmidland.com/your-journey/faster/